Many people who forfeited their pets to Bengaluru, India's CUPA animal shelter would tell Aditya Raheja they had no choice because they were expecting kids. When she said that was unnecessary, they'd retort that she didn't understand because she'd never been a parent.
But now that she is, she stands even more strongly in her conviction that you don't have to choose between your pets and your children.
After people told her she should give away her five adopted dogs during her pregnancy, she clapped back with a sweet maternity photoshoot starring them, Good Housekeeping reports. One of her canine kids sports a "big sister" sign.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Two other happy dogs protectively guards baby shoes.
These photographs prove pets aren't obstacles to children; they're additional family members to care for them. And for Raheja, they were a godsend during a difficult pregnancy.
When she suffered severe health complications and was at risk for a premature birth, they were always there for her. "I cannot even begin to describe all the thoughts that went through my head, but what I can tell you is this: Not once did I think 'hmmm my dogs have got to go.' My dogs are the reason i got through my pregnancy with my sanity intact," she wrote.
"The days I spent crying, I had the comforting weight of Diegos' head on my lap reassuring me things would be OK. The nights I spent on the bathroom floor, Leo kept me company, gently pawing me now and then to see if I was okay. I lost a very special little girl along the way, Leela, who kept me smiling with her silly antics til the end. When I could finally fall asleep, I had Cujo resting at my feet. I couldn't afford to stay in bed feeling sorry for myself when I had these kids depending on me."
She's got the pictures to prove it.
Now, she says her dogs just make her a better mother to her son Ayan. "I couldn't ever in good conscience give away an animal that loves me and trusts me with the same innocence and purity that my baby does," she wrote. "I couldn't abandon a family member to bring in another. I will not betray a life that depends on me as much as my son does. To all those people I will always say, NOT WITHOUT MY DOGS."